Author: vanwaax07

In 2015, ecologists at Yale published a study in Nature that showed that there are upwards of three trillion trees in the world. That is an astounding number, especially considering that previous estimates had guessed 400 billion. However, the number is only as good as the method used to get there. In the Yale study, …

Executive Order 13792 of April 26, 2017 orders the Secretary of the interior to review the validity of all national monuments designated after 1996. In total, these monuments preserve more than 13 million acres of land, and 434 million acres of marine habitats. The review is probably a first step in eliminating or reducing the size …

The autonomous, or self-driving car has gotten a ton of press recently, as Google’s cars log a million and a half road miles, Apple hints at a car, and Tesla’s autopilot polarizes users. Many are excited about this technology, but most people have reservations about handing over the wheel to a computer. In this essay, I …

The world of science is rife with tiny dramas that can completely envelop the worlds of a few people and have huge effects on science in years to come. Follow the publication trail of any good (or even bad) question in science and you will discover conflict over the best answers to these questions. Usually …

Omics sounds a bit like Olmecs, who were a culture that flourished in Mesoamerica near the Gulf of Mexico between 1500 and 500 BCE (you can read about them here). Omics refers to the blossoming of fields within biology that attempt to characterize the totality of a particular class of molecules within an organism. The first and most …

The North American west is burning. Millions of acres of forests and grassland burn, and the fires threaten homes. NPR has a nice summary of some abnormal fires in Washington. But what is the cause? The finger is most often pointed at climate change (or just "the drought" by skeptics), but invasive beetles, poor forest …

If you are suffering through this dreary spring in a deciduous environment, you might recognize the flower I am featuring today. It is the lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria), a close relative of the buttercup. The lesser celandine has quite a history, ecologically and artistically, so I will try to feature both sides of the story. …